Amber Blade
by Xanver
Summary: A new team, hidden regrets... Love. Lies. Secrets. Mistakes. A new twist in Konoha's story. KakashixOC mainly , SasukexOC, KibaxOC, GaaraxOC
1. Prolouge

Loyalty,

Hope,

Security,

Honor,

Protection,

Wisdom,

Love.

**Amber Blade**

The night was dark, harsh, chilling…unforgiving. The freezing rain that cascaded down from the black sky above pelted the slowly traveling body of a small blonde haired girl of about ten years, every drop burning like the licks of flames on skin. She carried a small bundle underneath her shirt trying to keep it dry, despite the fact that she was drenched to the bone by the rain. The girl paused and coughed violently over and over into her jacket's sleeve, sickened by lack of food and the harsh weather, but she had to keep going. To her, anywhere would be better than the home she had left.

Her father had an affair with her mother, her parents constantly fought, and she was tired of the pain that violently pierced her heart every time a conflict was started. So, two nights before, the girl grabbed her jacket and her most prized possession off her nightstand, sneaked out her window, and left the Land of Wind. On the road, she traveled day and night heading towards the border, seeking Konohagakure Village. Sometimes the girl got rides from pitying merchants who were heading in similar directions, looking to sell their wares. Now she was in the Land of Fire, walking along a ledge of a slightly forested mountain with the wind robustly whipping her hair in many directions.

The young lass made her way forward a few more steps, had another coughing fit, and then collapsed from her exhausted state. Thunder clashed, and there was an awful crumbling sound from below. She felt movement beneath her, and with a sickening realization she noticed the bit of rock she had walked on was breaking away from the rest of the landmass. Descending with the rest of the stone underneath her, the girl tried to grab the edge of the sturdy land above- but she couldn't grasp it. She was too late.

She was going to die.

Screaming, the girl closed her eyes and still held out her arm, seemingly hoping that by some miracle she would be able to latch onto something and save herself. Just then, a strong hand gripped hers, and for a moment she was hanging in midair with one hand around her stomach still protecting the hidden item underneath, and the other held on to by an unknown aid. As she was quickly pulled back up to the ground above, there was another horrible crumbling sound as the falling rock hit and shattered on Mother Nature's floor. Thankfully now on solid ground, the blond haired youth looked up, anxious to see her rescuer.

She saw a young boy around the age of thirteen with his leaf headband slanted across his left eye, a shock of silver hair, and a mask that covered his nose and mouth. Her gaze met his, and she blushed slightly. The boy seemed a little surprised as well. There was something about this girl's eyes…something he liked. They were so pensive and innocent- but now in such pain. The girl gave a bowel movement and started coughing roughly again. This time though, she noticed some blotches of blood mixed with the wet dirt on the stony foundation. Her body swayed and she fell forward, but the boy caught her. He looked at her worriedly, and picked her up tenderly.

"I need to get you to a hospital- quick," he muttered.

Then, with a flash of lightning, the boy sped off, leaving the rumbling voice of the thunder behind him.

Jumping off the mountain ledge and landing surprisingly soft on his feet, he rushed quickly through the trees and other vegetation at the foot of the large formation. Even in the poor state she was in, the girl looked up into the sliver-haired savior's face once more. The rain fell harshly against her face as she smiled weakly.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, and then the girl closed her eyes and buried her face into his navy-blue shirt.

"Shhhh," the boy soothed. "Don't mention it."

He could see the lights from the village nearby, and in no time he was running along the roads and into the infirmary. The boy ran up to the front desk and told the young girl's symptoms. The medical konoichi looked slightly shocked at first sight of the pair, but then she called for other medics and helped the boy take her to one of the medical wards. He laid her softly on the bed and she looked up again. The girl took the bundle that she hid under her clothing and gave it to the boy- it was a small wrapping of scarlet cloth concealing something firm, also dampened by the rain. He held it loosely in his hands.

"Please… accept this," she told him. She coughed badly again and continued. "And please …treat it well." Then she fell back on the pillows as the other medic ninja began to treat her.

The boy left the room with the konoichi that was at the front desk, mysterious item in hand. Back in the foyer, the nurse took her usual seat at the front desk and he took a place in one of the benches along the wall, curious to what was in the warm colored cloth. The inquisitive silver-haired youth took one end of the fabric, slowly undid the thin piece from its bindings, and out fell a book- a simple black hardback book.

He flipped open the lightly moist cover and looked at the first page. There was a small amount of words in the center of the paper written in delicate red inked calligraphy. Looking a little closer, he read what they said:

_**My Journal**_

_Kohaku Hiita_

"Hiita? Hmmm…"

The boy tapped the page and assumed that was the girl's name.

He turned another page and continued one after another, somewhat surprised at what he saw. In the journal, he found, on every left page would be an amazing drawing done beyond that girl's ten years and on the right would be an incredible piece of writing to complement it in the same red script as on the title page. Clearly, this Hiita girl had talent.

Finally, the boy arrived to the most current page and saw at the corner that it was dated for that morning before the storm. The picture on the left was of an old oak with the sun peeping through its many leaves. Entranced by the picture, he started to read the written part of the entry.

_Even with the sun's first breath, the shadow of night remains overflowing with regret and pain._

_The tree stands tall trying to stay firm, but its rings are filled with memory. Distinct from a_

_Short time, like the prick of a needle on flesh, the age feels like forever. Every winter the tree's_

_Blossoms die, promised with renewal in the spring. Even though new life is given, the hurting_

_Still remains._

The boy blinked. He continuously looked at the paper. The entry was so simple, but it gently tugged at his soul.

Why did it mean so much to him? Emotion written as clear as an angle's voice was printed on that paper… it breached his mind ever so. The boy blinked with sudden realization as he looked down and memories of his past rushed into his head. Sighing, he closed the cover, got up, and headed towards the door. His hand grasped the doorknob, but then the konoichi at the front desk called for him.

The boy looked over his shoulder and walked over to her.

"Sorry to bother you," she began. "I was just wondering if you knew that girl's name you rescued. You know, for her medical record?"

The boy nodded his head slightly and obliged.

"Kohaku…Hiita," he said. The name flowed smoothly on his tongue.

"Thank you"

The nurse shuffled some papers in front of her and wrote the name in a few of them.

"You know…"she started again, smiling."You can come see her tomorrow if you like."

The boy looked hopeful for a moment- almost happy. But then he regained his solemn status as he remembered something.

"Oh cripes, I can't. With the war going on, I have so many missions I have to do for the village, and I won't be here for a long time…"

The konoichi's expression faltered as well. Suddenly, the boy got an idea. He took out a piece of paper and a pencil from his white pouch he had, and began scribbling something down. When he finished, he folded it a couple of times and handed it to the nurse.

"Could you please give her this? It would mean a lot."

She smiled again and took the paper. "Sure."

Then, with book in hand, the boy smiled slightly and exited the hospital, protecting it from the rain as he ran home.

Rain beat against the window like a snare drum as the boy walked into his bedroom. He lived alone- his parents were already dead. He slipped off his zori and sat on the edge of his shuriken-clad bed sheets with Hiita's journal still in his hands. The boy took a picture frame off of his desk, and looked at the picture inside sadly.

"Obito…"he mourned sadly.

With one last sigh, the picture was placed back where it belonged, and the boy fell back onto the mattress. Holding the book a little tighter, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning, the girl, Hiita, woke up to golden sunlight streaming out the window in the ward she was in. Almost like on cue, the nurse from the front desk walked inside.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Fine, thanks," Hiita replied. She pushed herself up in a sitting position as she looked at the medical nin.

Turning her head a little to the right for a moment, she saw that there was some breakfast on a tray for her on the table next to her bed. Suddenly realizing how hungry she was, Hiita took the tray and began to eat. The nurse was about to chuckle, but she just smiled instead. She took the piece of paper the silver-haired boy gave her the night before out of her uniform's pocket and handed it to Hiita. Swallowing the food she had in her mouth, she took it curiously.

"What is this?" Hiita asked as she swallowed some toast.

"I'm not really sure," the konoichi confessed. "The boy who brought you here told me to give you that."

Hiita nodded and started to unfold the bit of paper as she said goodbye to the nurse, seeing as she was leaving. Once it was fully undone, she saw that there was some writing on the inside of the piece and she read what was written, nibbling at her toast.

_Although the shadow of night still may linger, there is always a source of light-_

_The moon and stars still provide a silent sense of hope for the one willing to find_

_It. The tree will still stand proud and tall against time, and will learn from the_

_Pains caused in the past. Yes, the moment may seem like forever, but the people_

_Most precious to us will help us go on. The spring will always come, but it will_

_Not just breathe life into the monotony of winter. It also gives everything a_

_New start. The love of the cherry blossoms and the gale of the silver storm are all_

_A part of life and we all will cross paths with those trials someday._

_I hope we meet again…_

Hiita blushed as she finished the letter. She looked all over the page to find a name, and she saw a small bit of kanji on the bottom left corner of the page. Rattling her brain, she tried to decipher it, and she translated it to be 'Hatake Kakashi'.

"Hatake Kakashi?" she asked herself. Then she smiled slightly, with a little tinge of pink still across her face. "I hope we meet again, as well."

Folding the paper up again along its original creases, Hiita put it in her pocket and started to finish eating, thinking about her letter she received.

Back at his home, the young Hatake looked up from what he was doing, just for a moment, feeling as though somebody had just said his name.


	2. Overveiw: Thirteen Years later

_Thirteen years have passed, the Great War was won by Konoha, and both Hiita and Kakashi have made many accomplishments. After being discharged from the hospital, Hiita was able to pledge her alliance to Konohagakure and become a ninja for the Land of Fire. She rose to the rank of Jonin and became an ANBU squad member for many years, but then she recently decided to quit and be a Jonin again. She has discovered her Kekki Genkai and became one of the leaf's best Konoichi in the Jonin rank._

_Kakashi was already a Jonin at the time, but he too also became an ANBU member. Like Hiita, coincidentally, he also went back to a Jonin as well. Over time, he had been nicknamed the 'Copy Ninja' for his battling style, which consists of the Sharingan given to him by Uchiha Obito before his death. He is also one of Konoha's best ninja._

_Even though they were going similar ways, neither Hiita nor Kakashi ever saw each other. They never forgot that day, and both ninja kept their eyes peeled all that time to see if they could find the latter. Fr many yars, their paths ran side by sid but never crosed… until now._


	3. The Call of a Falcon

_Fwoosh!_

The sun shone brightly overhead and many leaves danced all around behind Hiita as she leaped from tree to tree to get to Konohagakure. Soon, she hopped over the large village gate, and started running across the street. Her now-brown hair flew behind her as she picked up speed, catching sight of the town hall, and her hitai-ate headband reflected a patch of white light from the sun on the dusty streets.

Hiita just got back to the village that afternoon after completing a mission, and she had to go report to Lord Hokage. When she reached the building, she walked in, found the appropriate door along one of the hallways, and knocked.

"Come in," someone said from behind the door.

Hiita casually walked inside and shut the door behind her. The Third Lord sat in the middle of a long table that sat along the back wall. Some Chunin sat beside him as well on both sides, all of them doing something like shuffling paperwork or writing something in complicated- looking kanji. Hiita walked in front of the revered third lord, and bowed.

"Mission completed, Lord Hokage."

"Very good," he praised. "I believe you're done with your personal missions for today. You are dismissed…"

Hiita bowed once again, and left the room. Grateful to be done with the day's duties, she started to walk to Ichiraku, seeing as it was a little past lunch. She reached the ramen stand in no time, and took a seat in one of the stools in front of the counter. Ayame greeted her with a smile, and asked what kind of ramen she would like.

"Hmm… some with barbecued pork sounds nice," Hiita said, somewhat smiling too.

"Coming right up!"

Ayame went off a way to start cooking the noodles. A few minutes later, a steaming bowl of delicious-looking soup was placed in front of the Kohaku. She slurped up the ramen hungrily, grinning the whole time. When she was finished, Hiita placed her money on the counter and left.

She walked casually through the village streets until she saw a small wooden bench next to a shady tree over in a field not too far away. Hiita went over and sat down as she pulled a leather bound book from her white- colored pouch. Also finding a pencil somewhere in there, she began to sketch something on the left hand page.

Hiita was just getting into the rhythm of her drawing, when suddenly a large screech was let out. She quickly looked upward, and saw the Hokage's large brown falcon circling overhead. It dropped a single glossy feather, and then flew off. The slightly exasperated Jonin knew what this meant- the Hokage needed her. So she stuffed her things back into her bag, and ran off towards the town hall again.

Back in the mission assignment room, Hiita found that she wasn't alone. Lord Hokage and his crowd of Chunin were there of course, but there were also two other ninja and a konoichi there as well. Their backs were facing her until she came in, so as they turned around she was able to see some of the other Jonins' features.

The konoichi of the group had long dark hair, crimson eyes, and sort of an icy look which largely contrasted with her smile. One of the male ninja had short black hair, a cigarette dangling from his lip, and a cloth with the character for 'fire' wrapped around his waist. The last ninja of the three was slightly hidden behind the others, but Hiita could still somewhat see him. He had spiky silver hair, a mask that covered his nose and mouth, and his headband concealed his left eye. There was something familiar about him…

At that moment, they met each others' gaze and Hiita gasped as memories from that stormy night so long ago came to her and flooded her mind.

"_Hatake Kakashi?_" she asked, astonished.

"_Kohaku Hiita?" _The silver-haired Hatake walked up to her with his eye that wasn't covered slightly large with incredulity.

Seeing him fully as he stepped out from between the others, Hiita couldn't help but notice that he was extremely handsome, even though most of his face was concealed. She flushed a soft pink, eyes still showing surprise.

"Oh my God," She breathed. "I can't believe it's you."

"Umm, do you two know each other?" the dark-haired konoichi asked.

Both Hatake and Kohaku seemed to snap back into reality, and appeared to be very embarrassed.

"Oh- umm…" Kakashi started. "It's a long story." He walked back to where the others were, as did Hiita.

After taking a moment to get settled, all four Jonin turned to look at the Third, wondering why he called them here.

"Now," The Hokage began with a little cough. "The reason I summoned you all here is because of a special mission. The Genin Certification exams will be concluded soon, and I need four Jonin to test the most difficult-to-handle teams to see if they're ready to be promoted. I cropped out you four to because I thought you would be best for the job. Are any of you up for the task?"

All four shinobi in the group nodded to the Hokage.

"Very good!" He said smiling. "I will need you all to report to the Ninja Academy on Tuesday afternoon around one. You'll receive your team members at the classroom marked 187."

Then the Hokage dismissed the Jonin and they all walked out of the room. Kakashi walked fast to catch up with Hiita in the hallway who was just turning to go to him as well. There was a crash as they ran into each other, and at the very next moment, they found themselves on the floor in each other's arms. Hiita blushed a steaming red muttering "sorry" over and over as she got off of Kakashi.

Kakashi, who was equally embarrassed, stood up too and brushed off the back of his pants.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," Hiita continued.

"Don't worry about it," Kakashi laughed. "Although…" He tapped his chin as he gave Hiita a teasing look. "It _was_ a nice great-to-see-you-again welcome."

Amazingly, Hiita turned redder, which seemed impossible to her a few moments before, but then she relaxed slightly and smiled vaguely.

"Oh, so you've got jokes, huh?" she chuckled.

"Sometimes…"Kakashi smiled at her from behind his mask.

They started out the door of town hall and the sun warmed their bodies as they walked into the slightly crowded Konoha streets. The Jonin passed a few shops and after a while, Hiita sighed.

"You know, I really want to thank you again for saving me all that time ago. I know it was kind of minor, but if nobody found me, I still probably would have died."

"Ah, forget it." Kakashi replied with another one of his masked grins.

"You know, I'm wondering… Do you still have the journal I gave you?" Hiita looked at him with question in her eyes.

As he looked down at her, Kakashi noticed many things about the Kohaku that he never really thought about prior to this strange reunion.

Her eyes were just as beautiful as before, but they were not in pain and they were slightly hardened with the sight of death- yet, they still seemed to hold on to her innocence. Her long mahogany hair was nice and thick and it reflected the light from the sun magnificently as she walked down the street. He liked the way she smiled and blushed in front of him, and the Hatake noticed she smelled quite nice when she fell on top of him. Kakashi liked these qualities about Hiita amongst other things. "Kakashi, are you okay?" Hiita waved her hand in front of his face as he woke from his reverie.

Shaking his head slightly, Kakashi noticed that he was actually staring at her as they walked. He just hoped that he wasn't doing it for long as a tinge of pink appeared under his eye where the mask didn't cover his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kakashi lied.

"Okay…" Hiita said, not sure he was telling the truth. "So, do you still have the journal?" she asked for a second time.

"Of course!" he exclaimed. "I've kept it for thirteen years."

Hiita smiled, looking like she was almost in ecstasy.

"May I see it?" she asked.

"Sure. Only…it's at my place. Do you…?" Kakashi's words trailed off awkwardly.

"'Course. I don't mind."

"Great! Let's go."

Just then, Kakashi lead Hiita off into Konoha in the direction of his place.

Hiita and Kakashi walked through the Hatake's apartment door and the ninja lead the konoichi to his bedroom. He went to a desk in the corner of the room and took a scarlet cloth-covered book off the top of it. Handing it to Hiita, Kakashi smiled. She took it from his grasp, and immediately started undoing the journal's bindings and flipping through the pages. She was amazed- the journal was still in perfect condition.

"Wow," Hiita gasped. "It's still in excellent state! I knew I gave this to the right person," she added with an approving look at Kakashi.

"Well," Kakashi started as he took a seat on his bed. "It is extremely special to me…" Suddenly, he became slightly uncomfortable. "Look, I read that last entry, and I know how you felt at the time. What happened?"

Hiita sat down next to him, and she sank down a little in the mattress.

"Um… family and personal problems. I ran away from home so I could come find a fresh start and not have to suffer any emotional and potentially physical pains there," she let out a dry laugh. "Well, I was young and my stupidity shows even today…" Hiita frowned and looked off with her eyes slightly unfocused."Ever since I became a shinobi, my heart turned to ice on the battlefield and I've never gotten too familiar with anyone. "

Kakashi looked down too with a pang of sadness, and continued listening to Hiita's story.

"Back at the academy, I was always alone. I had no friends, and I was always put down and teased by my peers. I tried to involve myself with others, but they never would accept me and I never knew why. I trained alone, lived alone, and had nobody to go to when I was sad or needed help.

"Eventually, I rose to the rank of Genin and put into a three-man squad. I was happy- I thought that I would be able to make a friend easier; Turns out, that I was wrong." She moved closer to Kakashi, and sighed a little. He looked down at her and blushed. "I've murdered and witnessed death multiple times. After being alone for so long, I turned my back on everyone, just angry at the world, but I was at least still reasonably respectful to others. When I went home every night, there was only one thing that kept me moving on with life- it was your letter. I wanted to find you, and at least tell you how grateful I was for saving me. You seemed different from everyone else I ever knew back home and all the people I met here. You intrigued me…" Blushing as well now, she met his stare. "Nobody in this world ever did something as selfless as trying to save my life before. In fact, back in my home village, I was actually being pursued for murder."

Kakashi looked at her strangely. "Why?" he asked.

Hiita stood back up and pulled up a bit of her shirt, revealing her stomach. Kakashi turned absolutely scarlet behind his mask, but he stayed silent. Keeping up that one bit of her clothing, Hiita made the sign of the ram, and began manipulating her chakra. A black seal appeared on her stomach, and she looked at him sadly.

"I'm the living vessel of the Sakon, the four-tailed reptile demon. It damaged our village in the Land of Wind, and of all people I was chosen as the sacrifice for our salvation. Not knowing if the seal was going to hold, people in the village were afraid of me. I was shunned and hated, just like my early years here. My family moved to the border of our country, and that's about the time my father had an affair. He said he was tired of having someone like _me _for a daughter, and that's when I left. Sometimes I wondered if some people in Konoha knew what I really was…"

_Sounds similar to what happened to Konoha a while back… and Naruto, _the masked ninja thought to himself.

Hiita sat back down, but on the floor, not next to Kakashi. She looked at him again, and he noticed she looked very sorrowful, and even a little afraid. He assumed she thought he wouldn't take this news lightly.

"I don't blame you if you hate me," Hiita said as she wrapped her arms around her knees which were propped up between her and the Hatake, creating sort of a barrier.

Kakashi got off of his bed and sat next to her. He gently touched her shoulder, and she winced.

"Why would I hate you?" he questioned.

"Because…" Hiita whispered. "Everyone else does… even my own _family _hated me… "

"That doesn't mean _I_ will." Kakashi grinned at her. "You're not just some restraint for a demon, you're a person. From what I see, all you need is a friend, someone who cares about you."

Pulling Hiita into a kind one armed hug, Kakashi chuckled. "Could I be your first?" he asked.

Hiita looked up, slightly in shock. They barely knew each other, and here she was- sitting on the floor in the bedroom of the guy who saved her with his arm around her, asking to be her friend…even though he knew about the Sakon. The konoichi was puzzled- she didn't know what to say. She simply looked at him with incredulity for a moment and then she smiled genuinely for the first time in a long while.

"Okay," Hiita said softly as she looked into Kakashi's right eye.

He gave her a reassuring squeeze, and took his arm from around her shoulder. Hiita looked down slightly and blushed softly.

"Well," Hiita started as she stood up and started towards the door. "I guess I'll leave. Goodbye, then."

Kakashi stood up as well. "Wait," he said. He grabbed the journal from where it was last left. "Don't you want this?"

Hiita smiled at him warmly. "No," she told him. "I gave it to you. It's yours to keep." Then she left the room without another word.

Kakashi was still looking at the doorway where Hiita was standing, dumbfounded. He heard the door leading out of his apartment shut, and he knew she had left. He felt an odd mixture of pity, gloom, and happiness. Kakashi still held Hiita's journal in his hands as he walked back over to his bed and sat down.

"How could I ever tell her how I felt about her since that night?" Kakashi asked himself. Then he lay back on his pillows and sighed.

Hiita walked silently through the village streets and thought about everything that just happened. She felt kind of bad leaving Kakashi like that, but she just felt like she needed to. She thought she already dumped a lot of stuff on him and impressed her company on him too long. Looking a little to her right, Hiita saw the same bench under the tree she sat at before the Hokage called for her. Hiita walked back over to the bench and sat down.

She got out her book and pencil again, opened the leather cover, and flipped to the page she was working on earlier, and erased what little she had drawn. Flipping it over again, Hiita's hand was moving fast across the page as she drew something new.

A few minutes later, Hiita finished her sketch and she was satisfied with her work. It was a picture of the present- day Hatake. She didn't want to forget the look of his face- she drew every line with care, and didn't miss a single detail. Looking at the finished product, Hiita sighed.

"Whoever would have thought that the call of a falcon could change so much?" she wondered, looking past the tree's leaves and into the sky.


	4. A New Squad

The next morning, Hiita woke up with a stretch and a yawn as usual. Putting on her clothes for the day, she grabbed everything she needed for the day- weapons, scrolls, her sketchbook, the works. She was going to meet her given team today- the Genin Certification test wasn't until tomorrow. Hiita received profiles on the teammates she was assigned to test the next day from Iruka-sensei, the academy teacher, along with all _sorts_ of other paperwork from Lord Hokage. Now that everything along those lines was done, nothing could make this day go wrong for the Kohaku.

Before she went out for her early morning tai-chi and training session, she made a small bowl of steaming-hot miso soup. It smelled delicious to the barely awake konoichi.

_Thank God for miso, _Hiita praised silently as she slurped the soup gradually in little sips.

When Hiita was done with her food, she put away her dish in the sink and walked out her apartment door, locking it behind her.

A few hours later, when the last flames of the konoichi's jutsus faded into the air, she ran off towards the Ninja Academy, seeing as it was time to collect her possible team members. As Hiita hurried off, she somewhat smiled to herself on the inside at the thought of seeing Kakashi again. She didn't know why, she just did. She arrived at the academy in no time, and she found classroom 187.

Upon walking in, Hiita saw many students seated in the all-too familiar room in stadium like seating. A few of them glanced at her as she walked in, and a few started whispering to each other, amazed at who walked inside.

"Isn't that Kohaku Hiita?"

"Is she going to teach a squad?"

"I heard she's one of the best konoichi."

"That's so cool! I hope I'm in her cell."

A little amazed at her newfound fame, Hiita walked casually next to Iruka who called for the members of team thirteen.

Three students stood up and walked to the front of the room, and were all amazed at the sensei they were assigned to. Miyabi, a blue-haired konoichi, turned around and teased her peers.

"Ha! We got the awesome sensei!" she yelled out to the room.

Some of the students got angry at that remark, and Iruka gave Miyabi a look that told her to shut up. She somewhat cringed, knowing how strict he could be. The other konoichi, Shimari, sighed. 

Her cranberry colored hair fell from behind her ear as she hung her head in exasperation. The last of the group, Saya, patted her on the back and gave her a sympathetic look.

"Don't worry,"Saya sid with a slight smirk. "We all know how you feel."

Hiita looked to the members of her group, and they turned around to look at her. Wanting to get off to a good start, Hiita gave one of her rare smiles.

"Well, you three are now going to be part of my team." She began. "I hope I can teach you all well, and help you guys to be great shinobi."

They smiled back at her, and looked kind of excited.

"So, sensei," Miyabi began. "When's our first mission?"

"I'll tell you in good time. Follow me," Hiita replied.

Before Hiita left the room with her squad, she went to Iruka to get a few more papers.

"Hey," she whispered. "Has Kakashi been here yet?"

"No," Iruka said. He looked at Hiita and gave her a mischievous grin. "Does a certain someone have a crush on our cool masked nin?"

"No I don't!" Hiita told Iruka irritably while blushing. "I just wanted to tell him something."

"Fine…fine…"

Iruka handed the papers to the slightly aggravated sensei who walked off, embarrassed. After Hiita took a second to cool off, she led her new students through the village streets and to a balcony close to the academy. They all sat down on the concrete surface and got somewhat comfortable.

"So, everyone, let's begin with a personality check." Hiita told the trio sitting in front of her. "Tell me your likes, things you hate, ambitions, hobbies, things like that."

"Why don't you go first sensei?" Shimari asked.

"Oh, okay." Hiita established, with a faintly surprised expression. "Well, my name is Kohaku Hiita. My likes are my sketchbook, animals, food and literature. My _dislikes _are anything that is cold and wet except for the rain, annoying bakas, and crappy dulled weapons. My hobbies are drawing and taking care of my ninja foxes, and my ambitions are none of your business. Your turn," She pointed to Miyabi.

"My name is Tsuki Miyabi. I like water, wolves, books, and music. I don't like hot things like fire, people yelling at me, or when I can't do a jutsu right. My hobbies are writing, training, and acting. My ambitions are... I don't really know." Miyabi hung her head with a pensive look on her face.

Saya and Shimari shrugged and looked from Miyabi to their sensei.

"Hmm… interesting," Hiita muttered as she calculated the information she received. "Your turn," she said as she pointed to Saya who was somewhat sniggering at Miyabi.

"'Kay. I'm Uchiha Saya, and I like training and beating up my brother, Sasuke. I dislike it when anybody backtalks me or insults me. But most of the time, nobody does, because they know if they do, bad things happen..." The two Konoichi sitting next to Saya shivered. "My hobbies are being the best, writing, and stufs like that. My ambition is to be the most awsomefull ninja ever!"Saya smiled broadly. Her sensei nodded approvingly at her and then motioned to Shimari to speak. She ran her fingers through her hair and began.

"Hey, I'm Yoru Shimari. So, what I like- I like climbing trees at night, and hanging out with my pet bat, Ruushi, who is at home right now. My dislikes are selfish people, spiders, and being told what to do. My hobbies are snooping around and investigating people. I also _love _to scare people. Hmm… oh yeah, and my ambition is to be the stealthiest ninja alive!"She nodded with a very bright smile and Hiita noticed her ring around her right handed middle finger turn a deep shade of blue.

_Hmm? Oh, a mood ring… _she realized with a hint of amusement.

Hiita stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Well guys, it was nice to get to know you a little. Now there is something you three should know- tomorrow's mission will consist only of the members of our team."

Miyabi looked curious. "Why? What are we going to do?"

"A test. Right now, you're not officially ninja."

"_What?"_ Saya yelled. "What do you mean?"

Hiita looked at the little fuming ninja and smirked. "Come on. Do you think successfully doing a basic level genjutsu is enough to make you a shinobi?"

The others got angry as well, and all three insei grumbled in silence. All of them considered this painful truth in their minds with sappy frowns.

"Oh, man!" they moaned in unison.

Hiita handed the trio of unhappy students a packet of paper each with instructions and notices for tomorrow's challenge.

"I expect you guys to be at training ground three tomorrow at nine o'clock sharp. Don't be late." she said, still smirking.

"Hai, Hiita sensei," they chanted back in harmony.

Miyabi turned to Shimari and whispered, "This is such a drag" and Shimari nodded her head hastily in agreement.


	5. A Starlit Visit

The sun declined from the night sky, cooling the afternoon, and eventually the crisp air of the night blew over Konohagakure. Hiita walked alone down the shadowy village streets in the direction of her apartment when she heard a faint rustle in the trees behind her. Quickly, she turned around ready to attack whoever was in her wake. Suddenly she withdrew her attack when she saw a tall, familiar, silver-haired Jonin sitting in the tree's branches.

"Hey," Kakashi said. "Nice to see you." He hopped down from the tree's lower branch and walked towards Hiita.

Hiita was inquisitive. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied in his usual slow drawl. "I like to come and sit in the trees and ponder on things like why we all exist, the possible forms of veracious piety, the true meaning of the shinobi… how many calories I ate for lunch…"Hiita chuckled a little at that last remark.

"Do you do this often?"she asked, enjoying the feeling of this shared happiness.

Kakashi shrugged. "Kind of. But you know…" he walked closer to the Kohaku and gave her hand a small squeeze. "I'd enjoy some company."

Hiita smiled and blushed a light pink. "You know… so would I."

She and Kakashi climbed a tall oak tree and sat on one of the topmost branches. There was a large clearing in the tree's leaves where they both could see the starry night sky, and both Jonin stared, entranced, at the velvet heavens above.

"So this is your first time testing a Genin cell, huh?" Kakashi asked Hiita smiling with his right eye.

"Yup," the konoichi replied, still staring into the open sky.

"Are you nervous?"

"Kinda… I've never done this before though."

Kakashi chuckled. "Heh, I've done this many times. There's nothing to worry about. You most likely won't have any problems."

Hiita looked at Kakashi and grinned at his small reassurance. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Her smile then faltered and Hiita began to fiddle with an edge of her shirt. "Hey, Kakashi-kun…" She looked very solemn. "Why were you so quick on wanting to be friends with me, even though you knew I had a killer inside me? Aren't you afraid for your own safety? Why do you want to be around me?"

Kakashi looked down and blushed behind his mask ever so slightly. "Well…" he began. "You're very nice, talented and such, and you were very alone. I don't have a problem with my safety or being around you because it's not like the seal is going to break randomly. It's held all these years, hasn't it? And by being a shinobi, you have good control over ninjutsu like this, so I'm not afraid."

Hiita's smile returned a little. "Heh… thanks again Kakashi-sama."

"Whoa, I've gone from kun to sama in less than three minutes. I must be good!" Kakashi laughed.

The konoichi looked kind of embarrassed as she laughed with the Hatake. "Must be!"

Both Jonin sat there for the longest while still staring at the stars. The silence was finally broken when Hiita sighed in an unhappy tone and became sullen once more.

Kakashi got slightly uncomfortable. "What's wrong?"

"My family…" Hiita whispered. "I wonder what happened to them. I haven't seen them for thirteen years."

"I thought they hated you."

"Yeah, well, still… I was just wondering."

There was an awkward silence, and then Kakashi got an idea.

"Do you want me to go to Sunagakure with you on Sunday to find out?" he asked.

"Oh, um…sure," Hiita replied, slightly surprised for the fourth time that day. "Heh, hopefully none of the villagers recognize me after all these years and thought I died or something." Hiita shrugged with an uncaring expression.

"And if they do, I'll be there to help!" Kakashi stated good-naturedly.

All Hiita could do at the moment was grin at him with a glad expression. It was a feeling she wasn't used to, but she enjoyed it greatly.

"Heh, of course…"

_Just like all those years ago… _Kakashi thought. With an inward obligation, he told himself- _I swear, I won't let anything bad happen to her._

Hiita stretched and gave a little yawn as Kakashi pulled out a small book from his ninja pouch.

"Hey," He seemed to smirk behind his mask. "Have you ever read this?"

Hiita looked at the cover- it said Icha-Icha Paradise. She blushed a little from the title and replied with an "n-no."

"It's better than you'd think," Kakashi handed the small paperback novel to her. "Here, it's good for passing the time or whatever."

Hiita got quite curious, and flipped to the first page. After a few minutes of reading, her eyes were like _glued _to the text.

"Oh my God, it's freaking _addicting…_" she said as she blushed scarlet over the pages.

"Yup, I know the feeling," the Hatake laughed.

"Who wrote this?"

"Jiriya-sama did."

"Really? The legendary Sanin?"

"The same one."

"Wow… freaking pervert but…" Hiita's words trailed off to nothing in particular.

Kakashi laughed and shifted his position on the branch he and Hiita sat on.

"Hey… do you want me to walk you home?" he asked."It's really late, and I think you might want some rest for tomorrow."

Hiita looked at him, and smiled."Sure."

She closed Icha-Icha Paradise and handed back to Kakashi, who didn't take it back.

"Hey, you can borrow it, if you want." He said, smiling behind his mask.

"Oh, well… thanks."

"C'mon. Let's go."

The two Jonin hopped off the tree branch and started walking down the small dusty road when Kakashi realized something.

"Oh, uh… I just realized… I don't know where you live!" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head while looking at Hiita with an embarrassed expression that showed through his right eye.

Hiita giggled as she reached for his hand slowly and grasped it gently. "Don't worry, I'll show you," she said and she led him off into the night.

It wasn't long before Hiita and Kakashi got to her apartment, and when they reach the threshold before the Kohaku's door, Kakashi let go of her hand. Hiita took some notice of this action, and unlocked her door with some kind of pang of sadness, knowing she and Kakashi would now part. It disheartened Hiita to know the only person that would accept her for who she truly was would leave. With Kakashi gone, she knew that she would be harsh and alone once more… she hated that feeling even worse now, for all she was worth. Besides, his hand felt quite nice slipped into hers…

Hiita shook her head rapidly and zoned back into reality as two sides of her mind began to fight.

_What's your problem? He's only leaving to go home. He has a life too, you know._

_Yeah, but… I'll miss him._

_You twit, you're pathetic. You've been alone with yourself most of your life and you didn't care._

_Well, he makes me feel happy. I don't want him to go- I want to be with him._

_You make me sick. Take your lovey-dovey crap somewhere else._

_I don't love him! I barely know him…_

_Yes you do. You know it, don't you?_

_But…_

She spaced out a little again, and her eyes became slightly unfocused. Kakashi lightly touched her arm, and Hiita looked at him with a lost sort of gaze.

_Kakashi… _she sighed in her mind. _What is love?_

"Are you okay?" the slightly worried Hatake asked.

"Oh, um… I'm fine. Just thinking about the trip to Suna on Sunday," Hiita lied.

Kakashi smiled a bit behind his mask. "Nervous?"

"Kind of…"Hiita looked down and broke her stare with him.

Kakashi's expression fell, but then he gave her a warm hug. Hiita was slightly shocked, but she didn't pull away. Kakashi closed his eye and gently rested his head on the Kohaku's shoulder.

"I swear I won't let anyone harm you. Ever," he whispered.

Neither of them moved for the longest time. Another chilly breeze swept by the two, but they didn't care.

_What is this?_ Hiita wondered. _This feeling…_

She slipped her arms under Kakashi's, caressed his body, and buried her face in his neck.

"Kakashi…" Hiita whispered. "What's happening? I feel…"

Kakashi quickly let go and turned away, as if he was embarrassed.

"Hiita, I-I'm sorry… I didn't want to do- I wasn't trying- sorry…" he stuttered.

The Kohaku held her arms close to her chest, looked downwards again, and turned away too. "It's okay. I- I guess I'll just see you tomorrow then…"

"Yeah…"

With a solemn goodbye, the two Jonin parted and went their separate ways. Kakashi hopped away on top of roofs and into the dark while Hiita went through her entrance of her apartment and closed the door behind her. With one glance to her right, she saw her leather-bound journal sitting upon her couch. Hiita walked over there, sat on the scarlet cushions, and picked up her journal. Finding a pen behind one of her small orange-gold pillows, she flipped to a clean page and began to write in familiar red ink.

_Strange feelings_

_Overwhelming_

_One mind_

_With two sides-_

_One for every story_

_Complication to simplicity_

_Which isn't_

_Simple_

_At all._

_Someone found in the passage of time_

_Revelation of great truth_

_A gift of pure happiness_

_Questions answered_

_Others formed_

_A mystery of trust_

_Thoughts lost to emotion_

_Something new created_

_Shaping from two sets of dreams_

Hiita sighed and closed her book. This entry didn't make much sense to her, but somehow it did.

_Writing strictly from the heart can sometimes be really confusing... _Hiita thought as she laid her head down on one of her pillows and quickly fell asleep.


	6. Survival

The morning was warm and bright when the members of squad thirteen walked into the lightly forested area that was training ground three. Everyone was wide awake and ready for their survival test… or so they thought.

"Ready guys?" sounded a familiar voice.

All three students whipped their heads around, nearly scared to death, not expecting their sensei to sneak up behind them.

Shimari growled, a little angered, but then she smiled a little.

Hiita-_sensei's stealth skills are excellent… she could probably help me achieve my goal…_

Mind now set on passing her sensei's test, she waited intently for Hiita to speak.

"Glad to see you all made it on time," she began. "Here's the rundown for our little survival test. Your main objective- your goal- is to capture and interrogate me for information."

Saya raised her hand. "What are we interrogating you for, sensei?" she asked.

"That's an excellent question, Saya. The only way I'm going to let you pass… is if you can complete this poem by filling in the missing word."

"What is it?" Miyabi asked with curiosity.

Hiita took a breath and began to recite:

_"Koi wo shite, owari wo tsuge,_

_chikau koto wa kore ga saigo no…"_ she paused here.

_"…Sakura sae kaze no naka de yurete_

_yagate hana wo sakasu yo._

Where I paused is where the missing word goes." Hiita added.

The group was pensive. They were all thinking along the same lines- _What word could possibly go there? _

Hiita gave a little cough, and woke the trio from their reverie. "Alright then, to secure me, use any weapons, ninjutsu, or taijutsu at your disposal. Catching me is the actual goal here, so you won't have to torture the answer out of me. As soon as I'm tied up, I'll fess up."

Miyabi began to get worried. "Won't that be dangerous though?"

Hiita looked at her darkly. "Well, when you're infiltrating enemy lines needing a hostage, won't it be dangerous for _you _to be messing around and holding back?"

Miyabi gulped and Hiita slowly ambled to the middle of the training ground.

"Whenever you're ready…" she stated. "…you may begin. You have until noon."

Immediately, Miyabi, Saya, and Shimari ran off in different directions to hide. As soon as they were well hidden, Hiita added one last thing.

"Oh, by the way," she said casually. "Only two of you will pass. There's a sixty-three percent chance for an individual to fail. The first two to be able to capture me will go on."

Each insei was hit by a pang of shock, and even fear. All of them were good friends in the academy, and none of them could imagine leaving one of their friends behind.

_Crap… _Shimari was shaking with frustration. _I- I can't leave that one of us behind but… _she pulled out some strong wire and shiny shuriken from her ninja pouch. _I-_ _I can't fail!_

Shuriken flung from the top of a large oak tree surrounded the Kohaku and wrapped her in wire as Shimari jumped out from the branches. She also pulled out a rope and lassoed her sensei's arms and legs together in a tight squeeze. Still, Hiita looked calm. She fell to the ground as Shimari stood on top of her with the rope held tight.

Shimari was on her little pedestal right then. "Pathetic," she smirked. "For a Jonin, you suck. Now tell me… what is that missing word?"

Hiita smirked and stayed silent, making Shimari pull the rope tighter. "Pathetic, am I?" she asked. Then she disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

Shimari was incredibly taken aback. _What, a clone? I had an eye on her ever since she showed up…_

She quickly abandoned her rope and wire to hide herself in the trees. Saya, who wasn't too far off, was watching the whole conflict intently. _We've lost sight of her… she could be anywhere... _she thought, suddenly changing her location and moving through the trees. _I don't care what the cost is. I've got to pass this test!_

Miyabi was also running in the leaves. She knew straight away that she had to start moving so she didn't get caught by surprise. _Aw, man... _she thought to herself silently. _I love my friends, but I don't want to be left behind…_ Suddenly, she stopped. She saw Hiita leaning back against a tree, apparently surveying the ground below.

Sighing with relief that she didn't carelessly keep running forward and get caught, she turned around to head in the opposite direction to come up with a plan. The next thing she knew, she saw her sensei smiling at her teasingly while making the sign of the bird.

"This is why clones are fun!" she chanted as Miyabi was sent off into darkness. She fell, but not to the ground. Hiita smirked as she flew off to find Saya.

Miyabi woke up with a jolt and a bursting headache. Even though she had her eyes open, it wouldn't have mattered seeing as everything around her was dark- simply that.

"What time is it?" she wondered aloud as she stood up. "Ugh… Mom's gonna kill me. Where'd sensei go? Where is everybody? Helooooo?"

Nobody showed up… Miyabi felt completely alone. She gasped- something cold brushed against her shoulder. She started to hear indistinct whispers that were cold and as dark as the void she was trapped in. Miyabi shook with fear.

"Whoever is doing this- it's not funny! Hello?"

The whispers became louder and they chilled her heart to ice. All of a sudden, she felt a hand on her shoulder and a cold blade ominously pierced her back as she screamed. Warm blood gushed down her back in torrents.

_"Goodbye…" _the familiar voice of her sensei chuckled.

Suddenly, Miyabi was back in reality and drenched with a cold sweat. She breathed fast and hard as she felt her back- no blood. She saw where she was standing and was surprised that she didn't fall to the ground below.

_Genjutsu…_ she realized. _Horribly realistic…_

And with that, she ran off to find Hiita and made a mental note to herself to never let her guard down like that again.

Hiita dropped down to the ground and walked into the middle of the clearing. She was alone with her back turned, and Saya saw her chance to strike. She flew down from the tops of the trees and made rapid hand seals to summon a humongous flaming barrage at the Kohaku. As fast as anything, Hiita raised her hand when the fire was at least two yards from her and the flames vanished. Saya was astonished.

"How did you do that?" she called out to her sensei.

Hiita turned around and looked at Saya's family crest.

"An Uchiha, right? Interesting…" She smirked and leaned back against a nearby tree. "Of course the Uchiha are famed for their use in Fire-Style jutsu, but here's a little history lesson. My clan, the Kohaku, is famed for _absolute control_ of that element. The Uchiha clan is actually full of descendants from a sub branch of my clan. So technically, we're pretty much related."

Hiita snapped her fingers and a large flame danced inside her hand and then vanished. "I command fire like no other. I am the true heir of the Kohaku clan's White Kekki Genkai! Fire-Style attacks are useless against me."

Saya growled and shook with anger. "Fine then! Take… _this!_"

She threw a twin blade kunai straight at her sensei's face, but she caught it in between her teeth. As soon as Saya realized frontal assaults weren't the best way to handle things there, she hopped back into the trees. Out of the corner of her eye, Saya saw Hiita spit out the weapon and fly off into the leaves in the opposite direction.

"What's she planning?" she whispered to herself quietly right as she bumped into Shimari and Miyabi.

"Ouch…" she grumbled.

The two other konoichi covered their lips with their fingers telling her to be quiet.

"We need to attack her together." Miyabi stated with a whisper.

Saya was confused. "_What?_ Even if we do attack her together, out of all of us, one of our group member's work will have come to nothing!"

"Well…" Shimari considered. "Since we all did it together, we should we rewarded equally, shouldn't we? If not, we'll come up with something after we capture Hiita-sensei."

"But if we don't attack her together…" Miyabi continued. "None of us will pass."

Saya considered this for a moment. "You're right. None of us stands as much of a chance alone than if we were together…"

Shimari nodded. "Also, thanks to you, we were able to come up with a plan while you were fighting sensei." Saya looked up with new hope.

"Great! What is it?" Saya asked.

"Okay," Shimari pulled out a few kunai. "Here's what we've got to do."


	7. Hiita's decision

Hiita was back in the middle of the field, and she stood there, seemingly waiting for something. Shimari, Miyabi, and Saya all walked up to her directly. She was faintly surprised.

"Sensei…" Miyabi moaned. "We all give up. We won't be able to take you down. You win."

Shimari nodded in agreement. "We'd rather go back to the academy for more training."

Hiita walked up to them, slightly suspicious of their behavior, and the next thing she knew, they all turned to puffs of white smoke. All three Genin hopped out from the treetops, and Hiita smiled. Shimari bound her with wire again, Miyabi secured her with rope, and Saya knocked her to the ground with a loud '_Thump'. _

Even though she was bound, Hiita smiled warmly at her students, and they were confused.

"Wasn't she supposed to get angry and try to evade our attacks?" Miyabi asked.

"Yup, I was," Hiita said as a burst of white smoke enveloped her and she turned into a log.

"Substitution!" Saya exclaimed.

The real Hiita stepped out past a couple of trees and continued smiling. The trio was about to attack, but Hiita held up her hand.

"There is no more need to fight," she said calmly. "You all pass."

"W-What?" Miyabi asked, astonished. "How?"

Hiita ruffled her bangs lightly and continued. "You all passed because each of you agreed to put aside your individual interests and work together. _That's_ why you all were grouped into cells, no?"

All three students got very excited. "We…we all passed!" Shimari exclaimed happily with the others as they had a mini hug-fest. _"Yes!"_

Hiita smiled inwardly to herself as she thought. _For some reason, I think I'm gonna like teaching this group…_

Shimari and Saya started running the direction out of the training ground jumping and laughing joyously, but Miyabi stayed behind and turned to Hiita.  
"By the way, sensei," Miyabi said. "What was the missing word?"

Hiita looked at for a second, smiled once more, and replied, "Heartbreak."

Miyabi gave a little "Oh" and turned around to go run towards her teammates. A second later the three Genin turned around and Shimari called to her sensei with a smile, and waving out to her.

_I think this one mission will change me a lot…_

"Come on, Hiita-sensei! Let's go!"

Hiita waved back to her and started walking to her students.

…_Yes… I think I'm gonna like these guys…_


	8. Attack on the road to the Land of Waves

"_What_? A _C_-rank mission? Are you_ serious_?"

Naruto smiled- all his groaning and whining worked. _"Alright!"_

Everyone in Squad Seven wore different expressions- Sasuke looked hopeful at the thought of a C-rank mission instead of the simple D-ranked ones he and his cell members were assigned to, Sakura gave Naruto a reprimanding look at his arguing with the Hokage like that, and Kakashi was simply dumbfounded that the Third Lord would actually go along with Naruto's whiny complaints. Yet, the Hokage just smiled.

Both Sakura and Iruka looked like they were going to protest when Squad Thirteen walked in the room. Hiita was the first to notice the sudden crowding. She looked at Kakashi and smiled.

"_Ohayo gozaimasu_," she greeted.

"Hey. 'Good morning' to you too," Kakashi replied, smiling. _Hmm… _he thought_. I sense a new vibe around her…_

Sakura then eyed Miyabi and instinctively moved between her and Sasuke, making a stubborn, pink-headed wall between them. Shimari and Saya said some normal "Hi"s to everyone in the room, but didn't do much except stand and look around the area. The Hokage then started to speak to the group of shinobi.

"Yes, a C-rank mission, Naruto, only…" he eyed Hiita with that familiar don't-worry-I-know –what-I'm-doing look. "…I would like Team Hiita to accompany you."

The whole of Squad Thirteen stared in amazement.

_Our first mission will be a _C_-ranked one…?_ They all seemed to think.

Iruka stood up arbitrarily from his seat and looked at the revered Lord.

"Excuse me if I overstep Lord Hokage, but I don't think it wise to send a team with absolutely _no_ mission experience on a C-ranked mission."

The Hokage looked once at him, and then looked at Hiita as to expect her to retort. Hiita then felt a sudden responsibility to this in a way she didn't understand, but she tried to rejoinder to Iruka's comment.

"If we go on this mission…" the mahogany-haired Jonin began "I will take full responsibility for them."

The Third Lord then looked at Iruka again, but this time he sat down without another word, knowing he wouldn't win.

During that whole time, all the Genin and Kakashi were just watching the conflict with interest, watching the fate of their teams' mission at hand being tossed back and forth.

"Awesome! Looks like the other team is coming with us!" Naruto grinned.

"Cool!" Saya chimed in with the whiskered ninja.

Hiita looked from Lord Hokage to her Genin to the Hokage again. "What does this mission consist of?" she asked, inquiringly.

"I'm glad you asked." he said. "You'll be protecting a certain someone… send him in."

Just then, an elderly man holding a brown bottle of some unknown substance walked into the room. He wore a small knotted rope around his forehead, despite his age, had a strong build, and smelled faintly of booze.

"I'm Tazuna," the man said, using the back of his hand to rub under his nose. "…A bridge builder of ultimate renown. I hope you all are prepared to protect me with your lives."

He took another glance around the room and looked a little taken aback. "Are all of you coming to take me back to my country?"

Slowly, all the shinobi in the room nodded. Tazuna took a drink from his bottle.

"Even that squirt? He has the face of an imbecile." He looked at Naruto, who didn't notice because he was on cloud nine.

"What squirt?" he laughed. "What imbecile?"

Suddenly everyone in the room was looking at him too, and Naruto snapped.

"_I'm gonna kill him!" _Naruto started to run after Tazuna, but Kakashi grabbed him by his collar, leaving him to flail with his arms and legs uselessly.

"No, no…" Kakashi told him. "No killing the man you've been assigned to protect."

The silver haired Jonin let go as soon as Naruto called down. All the little orange-clad ninja could do was sit down and grumble in anger. Miyabi sort of sniggered with Saya and Shimari, but she was still trying to silently look for Sasuke. For some reason, she couldn't catch sight of him- Sakura always seemed to be in her way. The aqua-haired Genin then walked up to her, took her by the shoulders, and moved her to the side. Miyabi then walked up to Sasuke and greeted him.

"Hi, Sasuke-kun," she said, smiling.

"Oh, hi, Miyabi-chan." He smiled back at her.

"Cool that we're going on a mission together, huh?"

"Yeah…"Sasuke swallowed and sighed.

He was going to ask her.

"Miyabi-chan…" he began.

"Hm? What is it, Sasuke-kun?"

"After the mission, would you… like to grab some dinner with me?"

Miyabi blushed deeply. Sakura heard Sasuke's offer too, and when she did, nearly had a heart attack and died.

_What-? _She thought jealously. _He'd rather ask that blue-haired freak out to dinner than me? She'll pay for this- _CHA!

Miyabi smiled and said yes, and she and Sasuke stayed close together, with Sakura fuming in a nearby corner and Sasuke smiling and blushing.

Tazuna got to talking with the Hokage, and Kakashi walked up to Hiita.

"This mission may take a few days," he said in concern. "We probably won't be able to go to Suna tomorrow."

Hiita smacked her head with her palm in frustration. _Crap…_

"But… I'll still go with you whenever we can go, if you want." He added with a happy tone.

"Thanks," Hiita sighed with a smile. "I'd appreciate that."

"You know…" Kakashi sort of blushed. "I've noticed a big change in you compared to before you got your team."

Hiita became curious. "Such as?"

"You seem to be much happier and brighter than you were. It's a vibe I'm just receiving from you, that's all." Kakashi smiled cheerfully behind his mask, but she could tell.

"Oh? Hmm…" Hiita thought for a moment. Yes, she did seem different compared to before she had her team- much more open. "I guess that's true…"

Tazuna stopped talking to the Third Lord and the Hokage cleared his throat.

"Okay, everything seems to be in order. You will all be leaving for Kirigakure in an hour. Pack for a few days, because remember: preparation is a ninja's greatest skill. You are all dismissed."

"Hai, Lord Hokage." The shinobi in the room chanted back in harmony- Tazuna just grunted in his approval.

Before leaving, everyone bowed and then left town hall to pack for their mission.

The large group of ninja left the Konohagakure gates exactly an hour later with Tazuna in their party. Naruto ran a little bit ahead of the group and pumped his fists into the air.

"Yeah, it's my first time out of the village! This feels great!" he yelled to the world, energized.

Tazuna furrowed his brows in disapproval and turned to Kakashi.

"Do you _really_ expect me to put my life in the hands of _this_ idiot?" he asked.

Kakashi smiled, a little embarrassed. "Don't worry, with this unusually large group Lord Hokage put together, you should be fine. Hiita-chan and I are elite ninja too, so you'll always have good backup."

_Hiita-_chan? Hiita thought slightly in a happy daze. _Not Hiita-san?_

She smiled as she walked with her eyes closed, but immediately stopped and looked down when she sensed Miyabi in front of her.

"Sensei, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," she replied slightly irritated.

Miyabi shrugged and went back to where Sasuke was. They seemed to be around each other a lot since town hall. Shimari and Saya sort of sniggered at this when they noticed too and Saya called out to her sibling.

"Hey, Sasuke! How's your _girlfriend?"_

Both Miyabi and Sasuke stopped when they heard her comment. They turned their heads and glared at the two konoichi evilly with dark red stains spread across their faces.

"Shut up!" they both yelled in unison.

Shimari and Saya chuckled and then Shimari turned to her sensei.

"Hiita-sensei, why did Lord Hokage send _two_ teams on this mission? Aren't there supposed to be small numbers of shinobi in a group because of stealth reasons?"

_Of course she'd be the one to ask this…_ Hiita chuckled silently. "Well, since this is just a C-rank escort mission, I guess he thought that stealth wouldn't be necessary seeing as there are only minor foes we may face."

Shimari processed this in her mind as they all walked by a large puddle. "Okay, I get it!" she said, grinning. Hiita grinned too, but thought the puddle there seemed very odd.

_Strange…it hasn't rained here for days…_

Tazuna looked up to the pair and all the sudden looked very guilty. Kakashi took notice to this and was about to ask him about his sudden change in behavior.

"Tazuna-san, why-"

"Everybody, duck down!"

Everyone in the group hit the ground as a chain of shuriken came flying towards the cluster from behind. They thought they were all safe from the attack, but Kakashi was bound by the sharp dangerous chain. Shuriken points were digging in his flesh, causing warm, dark blood to seep slowly down his entire body. He gave Hiita a sharp look that told her a lot through a simple stare, and suddenly the chains tightened and ripped up his entire body. Pieces of Kakashi's flesh hit the ground one after another sickeningly. Sakura screamed, and Tazuna and the rest of the Genin were simply stunned at the violent display.

"_One down…" _an evil voice chuckled.

"_Ready, brother?" _another one laughed.

Two masked men in black cloaks hopped in front of the bloody mass on the ground. Dust from the road surrounded their heels as the two cloaked men stood back to back with the chan of shuriken held up by their bulky clawed gauntlets around both of their left fists respectively. They eyed Tazuna with a demonic glint in their eyes, and rushed towards him, claws out.

"Manji battle formation!" Hiita yelled. "Protect Tazuna-san!"

All the Genin surrounded Tazuna in a circle with kunai pointing out, but most looked very afraid that battle would be on them so soon. Hiita jumped high in the air, flipped, and came down hard on the two attackers on top of their heads with the heels of her feet. They yelled in pain and fell on the ground. Quickly, they recovered and leaped in the direction of the defending group. One of the men went after Naruto and tried to move past him to get to Tazuna. Naruto held up his kunai as to attack, but he froze up. The cloaked person took a swipe at him with his gauntlet and slashed his hand before Sasuke got in front of him and kicked him down.

He threw a kunai through the hole of one of the shuriken in the link and it held the chain to a nearby tree. The man and his brother tried to pull it free, but it was stuck. Knowing their efforts would be pointless, they disconnected the chain from their wrists. The two brothers, still greatly determined to reach Tazuna, then immediately went after him again.

Shimari and Saya broke from their formation and went after one of the shinobi- one of the men was rushing to Tazuna from behind, and the other was rushing to him from his front. The cloaked ninja in his midst moved faster, and was ready to claw out the bridge builder's throat mercilessly. Sakura bumped Tazuna back a bit, and Miyabi thrust her kunai forward.

"Stand back, Tazuna-san!" the Haruno exclaimed as Miyabi's kunai missed and just lightly sliced the fabric on the man's right shoulder.

Behind Tazuna, Saya and Shimari rushed at the other black cloaked man attacking him, kunai pointed forward. In sync, they both slashed at the assailant who dodged their attack by jumping high and landing with a small 'thump' next to his sibling.

They teamed up once more, preparing for a fatal blow, but suddenly found themselves in a sputtering chokehold.


	9. Demon of the Mist

"Our attackers appeared to be Chunin level ninja from Kirigakure- ninjas from the land of mist. They are widely known for their determination to continue fighting until they secure their goal, even at the price of death."

Kakashi walked up to the two bound ninjas. One of the men stared at him with hate.

"Clearly, they were anticipating our attack." He spat.

"Not really," Kakashi corrected. "The sun is out, and it hasn't rained here for many days now. That puddle you guys were hiding in seemed very out of place."

Tazuna was taken over by sudden curiosity.

"Well, if you knew all that, then why did you let those men attack you guys?"

"Oh, we could have killed them easily," the Hatake replied with a nod towards Hiita. "…but I wanted to know who they were _really _after."

"What do you mean?"

Kakashi shot Tazuna a look.

"I wanted to know if it was one of us shinobi they were after…or _you. _You never reported to Lord Hokage of any ninja looking to kill you. Your request was for you to be protected by any assaulting thieves or brigands. This falls far beyond what we were assigned. This mission would have been ranked –and priced- as a mission for elite ninja."

Tazuna stared downwards, burdened greatly by guilt, as Kakashi continued. "You may have had your reasons, but lying is strictly taboo."

"We're not skilled enough to handle something like this…can we quit?" Sakura stepped up nervously to her sensei.

Shimari stuck her tongue out at the girl. "Only losers quit, idiot. Let's just get Naruto treated and continue the mission we set out to do!" Miyabi and Saya nodded in agreement.

Kakashi looked at Hiita, who was examining Naruto's wound. "Hii-chan?"

The kunoichi sighed. "This is difficult… should we go back now to get Naruto's wound treated, or quit this mission altogether? Even if we did plan on returning, we'd still end up aborting the mission…"

Naruto growled in frustration as he whipped out his kunai.

"What? Naruto, no!"

"Failed? What are you talking about?

In a hideout hidden deep in the forests of the land of waves, a squat little man yelled at his subordinates with distaste. "If you weren't supposed to be the best, I wouldn't have paid you so for your abilities."

A man sitting on a couch in front of the man took the hilt of a sword from behind his back and swung the blade in front of his face. He wore bandages over his face like a mask, his chest was bare showing a stomach that was rippled with muscles, and he had camouflage patterned arm and leg warmers along with some long striped pants.

"Oh, do shut up." The sword he was swinging in front of his boss's face was larger than any man, but he waved it around in his hands like it was a twig.

"I, with my Guillotine Knife, will take care of them myself."

The small man trembled visibly with fear of being cut in half with the gargantuan blade just inches from his face as he tried to oppose the masked man's efforts.

"B-but, the bridge builder has hired ninja of incredible skill, and also… now that the Demon Brothers attempted and did not succeed, they will guard up for further assaults."

The masked man closed his eyes in disbelief. His headband glinted in what little light was shining in the room, and showed four wavy lines representing the Land of Mist distinctly.

"Pah…" he then looked up at his boss demonically. "Don't you remember who I am? _I am Momochi Zabuza, the demon of the ninjas that hide in the mist!"_


	10. The Worst Client

Dark red blood ran freely down the back of Naruto's hand to his arm as he stabbed himself with his kunai. Everyone looked at him with surprise and shock as he gritted his teeth and sucked in the pain like a sponge.

_Why…why do I never fit in?_

Naruto's blood slowly dripped to the ground, staining the dirt he stood on as it flushed the poison out of his system.

_I've trained by myself every day trying to improve my skills…I should be really strong by now!_

He winced as he yanked the dagger sticking out of his hand harshly.

_By the pain in my left hand I swear…nobody will ever have to save my life again, I will never freeze up like that again, and I'll never be outshined by Sasuke like that again! Also…_

Naruto turned to ace the other shinobi and Tazuna.

"I swear I'll protect the old man," he yelled, eyes blazing with determination. "Reporting, fit for duty, Kakashi-sensei!"

He stood firm as he looked at everybody's surprised expressions.

"Uh…Naruto…"Kakashi walked up to his student. "We needed to get the poison out of your body, but… you overdid it."

He smiled brightly with his right eye. "You could seriously die from blood loss right now!"3

Naruto didn't exactly process what Kakashi said right away because he said it such a nonchalant tone. When the little Uzumaki _did_ realize what his teacher had said a sudden horror swept over him.

"What?!" he started to run in a little circle, flailing his arms up and down in a uncontrollable manor. "I don't want to die like this! I'm freaking out, I'm freaking out! _Save me!_"

Hiita took Naruto by the arm as her students began to laugh. She gave them a sharp look that told them to shut up, and they immediately fell silent at once. Her grip on Naruto's wrist was firm but gentle, and for some reason, her touch calmed him down greatly.

"Let me see…" Hiita took out some gauze and a cloth from her white ninja pouch.

Taking out some cleaning alcohol too, she lightly dampened the cloth with the cold liquid and began cleaning his arm. As she dabbed away the rest of the blood from his cut, she noticed the wound had almost completely healed.

_The Kyuubi… _Hiita thought with a sudden realization.

She was silent for a while and wore a serious expression on her face- that worried Naruto a lot.

"I-I'm gonna be alright…right?"

"Oh- right, Naruto."

She finished tending to Naruto by bandaging his hand up tenderly and smiled.

"Don't keep stabbing yourself, ok?"

Naruto looked at Hiita and flushed. None of the other adults treated him kindly except for Iruka and Kakashi. Outside those two people, he was always pierced with icy- cold, empty glares of hate.

Naruto laughed and smiled. "Okay!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

Hiita smiled at him, stood up, and walked towards her team. Kakashi, however, watched her with a wondrous expression. That tender care for Naruto- was it filled with… empathy?

_Without words, he found peace in Hiita-chan…_ he thought. _Interesting…_

"Kakashi-sensei…erm… san? I…"

Kakashi turned to face the stuttering Tazuna.

"There's something you must know."

Everyone turned to listen to what Tazuna was going to say.

"There is a horrible man who wishes to see me dead."

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. "A 'really horrible man'?" he asked.

Hiita became very serious. "Who is it?"

Tazuna sighed. "You probably know of him…he's a billionaire in the marine transportation industry…His name is Gato."

Hiita and Kakashi shared a shocked expression.

"What? Gato?" Kakashi asked, taken aback at this news.

"They say he's the richest man alive!" Hiita added.

Tazuna nodded. "At first, he seems like a normal businessman, but as time passes, the violence starts and you find out that he is actually a merciless criminal who employs groups and teams of ukenin and shinobi to do his dirty work. Only one year ago…he came to the Land of Waves and in to time took over and abused our marine transportation system which is the key to an island's economy.

"Eventually, our whole country was in the palm of his hand, and he sucked all our currency away. Everybody, including our neighboring lords, are poor. Our only hope is to complete the bridge we're working on currently to start trade again and put a halt to Nami no Kuni's suffering."

"I see," Sakura said. "That means you, Tazuna-san, are very much in Gato's way." She had a talent for grasping situations.

"That means those idiots over there are working for him," Saya added.

"Why didn't you mention all this when you sought help from our village?" Kakashi questioned.

"A Jonin bodyguard would be a lot more then I, or anyone else in my country for that matter, could afford. If you give me up now, I'm pretty much dead."

Hiita was about to protest. "But…"

"Oh well!" Tazuna boomed with a carefree grin. "You're right, it's not your problem! It's not like you're going to see my family cry all day long while their hearts are breaking!"

The eight shinobi hunched over and sighed with exasperation as Tazuna continued. "Oh, and don't mind if my daughter and grandson pledge eternal hatred against you or your country as she lives her life alone! Heck, it's not your fault!" He was still grinning as Hiita sighed.

"Well, we'll keep protecting you then- at least until you're safely in Nami no Kuni,"she half-grinned.

She, like the others, were thinking along the same lines…

_This is the worst client ever!_


End file.
